Didn't Let Her Down
by Bean1
Summary: This is a familiar story told from an unfamiliar view ...


Didn't Let Her Down, by Bean  
  
bean118@aol.com  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, yada yada yada, not mine, ect.  
  
It was the evening before we started into the Temple of the Ancients. Since it was late, our group had decided to get some rest for the night, so we had set up camp somewhere in the forest around the temple. I don't remember where, I wasn't paying attention. Instead, I had my materia out, counting it carefully.  
  
One red, three yellow, two purple, six green ... somehow, I figured there should have been more then that. As I counted again, I felt a shadow over me.  
  
I turned to find Aeris standing over me, looking reeealy peeved. Oops. I shot back my patened poker face to keep myself from looking guilty.  
  
"Yuffie? Have you seen my fire materia?" she asked, almost grimly. Almost, anyway. Aeris wasn't capable of gettin' real mad.  
  
"Fire ... would that be green?"  
  
"Yuffie, it's missing. Do you know where it is?"  
  
If it had been anyone but Aeris, I could'a shrugged, and double talked my way out of this. But she had this look in her eyes, and for some reason, I didn't want to lie. You just can't lie to Aeris. There's just somethin' about her that won't let you.  
  
"Um. It ... might be close ..." There. That wasn't a lie.  
  
"What's that by your foot?"  
  
I looked, and sure enough, a smallish fire materia lay by my sneakers. "Can you prove it's yours?"  
  
She bent over, took it, and turned it over in her hands like she was looking for something. "Here," she said, and showed me where she had etched on it "AG", her initials. Darn!  
  
I turned away, trying to avoid what I knew was next: 'Yuffie, don't steal my materia, blah blah blah, stealing is wrong, so on so on, don't do it again.' Instead, I felt a hand on my shoulder.  
  
Huh?!  
  
"Next time, just ask."  
  
Ask!? But then I can't steal it!  
  
"Ask, huh? And you'll let me use it?"  
  
"Why wouldn't I?"  
  
Because ... because no one really ever trusted me with materia ... they didn't think I'd return it. Wait, *would* I return it?  
  
I figured I'd try an experiment: "Can I borrow it now?"  
  
"Sure," she said, and handed it to me. Just like that? Boy, sometimes I don't get her at all.   
  
I just kinda stared as she walked away from me, jaw open, head cocked. That was surely a once in a lifetime event.  
  
I don't know why I kept thinking about that evening as Cloud, Red XIII and I started down the strange staircase in The City of the Ancients. This new underground cavern was surreal -- everything was real glassy. There was water below us and sunlight above us, and glass in the middle ... it didn't look like anything I'd ever seen. In fact, it sorta reminded me out of something from those Dr. Seuss books. Boy, the Cetra sure didn't have any taste ...  
  
They did, however, know how to make a place creepy. It was dark all over, except for where it was light ... oh, I'm no good at this. It just *felt* creepy. You know, kind of like your Grandma's wine cellar that has all the spiders and roaches in it and smells like she keeps dead stuff in it instead of wine.  
  
In front of us, there were some glass columns. I tried to count them, but the light reflecting off them made my eyes hurt. I'm pretty sure I counted five. Trying to avoid the reflecting light, I turned my eyes up ...  
  
I'll be! There was Aeris. She was sitting in a crystal gazebo, looking like she was praying or something. Why would she do that? Everything was fine, wasn't it? She told us she was gonna take care of Sephiroth, and I knew that she gave him the ol' one two. She mighta slung him around real good, I thought, but then I remembered who we were talking about.  
  
Cloud hopped up on one of those glass pillars, and started for another. I put a foot forward to follow, but he motioned for me to stay back. I glanced back at Red XIII, and the look in his eyes told us that Cloud had to go alone.  
  
No big, no big, I figured. It didn't take three people to get her.  
  
Cloud hopped up to Aeris' gazebo, and stood there. Then he drew his sword ...  
  
Huh? I looked around, thinking that maybe he saw Sephiroth. What was Cloud gonna do?  
  
Slowly, he raised his sword above his head. Aeris sat there with her eyes shut. What was with the sword? I would have turned to Red XIII, but all of a sudden, the glint of the blade caught my eye as it came toward her head ...  
  
"Cloud!" I shouted.  
  
"Stop!" Red insisted, an' he did. The poor kid took a step back.  
  
"Ugh ... what are you making me do?"  
  
For the first time, Aeris looked up. She opened her eyes, and looked at Cloud, and she smiled. She smiled! That meant everything was okay, didn't it? Hooray! Sephiroth was gone and Aeris was gonna come back with us ...   
  
No, scratch that.  
  
Sephiroth was back. He came down from nowhere, gliding really fast. Even if this was serious, I kinda wondered why he wasn't *falling*. It would be neat to see him break every bone in his body.  
  
As I was trying to figure out what materia he might have on him, the air got really chilly. He drew his sword in mid air, and ... oh, Gawd ...  
  
Aeris! She ... she ... oh, Gawd, oh Gawd! Worm chow ... she bought the farm ... she slept with the fishes ... she died! That white haired clown was a murder!  
  
There was a little tinkering noise, and I caught sight of Aeris' white materia. I've been all over the world, I've seen all kinds of materia, but never crossed one like her white one. The rarest ... I'd been eyeing it for a while, and as it bounced down the columns toward me, every bone in my body wanted to grab it. One problem: every bone in my body wouldn't move. Don't think I didn't try. I just ... couldn't.  
  
Cloud was saying something to Sephiroth, but I didn't care. Aeris was dead, I couldn't get her materia, and now Sephiroth was back and he was going to screw us all over. That's just my luck, isn't it?  
  
There was a battle with a Jenova part, but I don't remember much about it. How can you expect me to concentrate with Aeris' dead body's right next to me? Besides being really gross, it was kinda disturbing.   
  
When Jenova was gone, we all stood there for a moment. Red turned his nose up and howled louder then I'd ever heard him howl (I had to cover my ears), then started down the pillars.  
  
So, huh. I guess it was my turn. I faced Cloud, and sniffed ...  
  
No. I couldn't cry, it wasn't right. I was gonna stand there, and say somethin' tough like "Tough luck," or "Sucks to be her." My eyes weren't going to water, and I wasn't ...  
  
Yes I was.  
  
I broke down and started sobbing, arms wrapped around Cloud. I think I scared him, but I didn't care any more. Aeris had her last stand.  
  
Dry up, I told myself, and I tried. I finally just stood up again, wiped my nose, and turned to go down the glass pillars. Cloud turned away from me.  
  
Sticking my hand in my pocket, I came across a little ball of materia ...  
  
Aeris' materia! I never returned it!  
  
While Cloud wasn't looking, I quickly slipped it into Aeris' dead hand. There. I didn't let her down.  
  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
I know this seems a little odd, but I had Yuffie in my party when Aeris died, and she really did cry. I thought that was a neat touch ... it sort of made it seem like she actually *did* have a sensitive bone in her body. Anyway, I knew I had to try this, and I did, and here it is. How is it? 


End file.
